That's not Good
by NikkiCross
Summary: Naruto and Itachi are engaged in a battle after a chance encounter when Itachi uses an unnamed jutsu that accidentally sends them both back in time. Faced with the dilemma of whether or not they should change the past, the two become an unlikely, dysfunctional, yet striking team with a new catchphrase; "That's not good." Eventual ItaNaru, Some swearing, Alternate Timeline
1. Chapter 1

Hi guys! It's Nikki, as I'm sure you all know. I'll have you know this is my first fan-fic ever, and I'm super hyped on it, if not a little nervous. Please read and review, as I would love some feedback, but please! Help me ward off flamers, as I am not very experienced in this field! Love you guys!

~Nikki

"We really should have thought this through, Kurama," He said out loud as he skidded across the ground in an effort to avoid a potentially deadly fireball from his opponent. Warning bells were flashing through his mind telling him to be wary of the dark man in front of him.

 _I'm way out of my league here…_ He thought.

 **You'll be fine, Kit. All you have to do is avoid his eyes. The genjutsu cannot affect you that way. Besides, I can always break through it if we are entrapped.**

"I'm not so sure..." He muttered uncertainly.

His opponent was quickly gathering chakra, and through his sage mode, the young man could tell that a massive attack was about to be sent his way. But he wouldn't quit. Hell no. This jinchūriki had a job to do, and no shinobi, no matter how strong, was going to stop him. Or, at least, that's what he kept telling himself.

 **Where is this sudden doubt coming from, Kit? I thought you were supposed to be Naruto Uzumaki, World's best ninja and future Hokage? What happened to that whole spiel?**

Naruto grinned as he straightened his shoulders with glittering eyes. A renewed confidence and determination swelled through him as he decided it was time to take control of this fight. No matter what.

"Thanks, Kurama. I think I needed that. Now, back to the problem at hand..."

* * *

 _He's an idiot. It's official._

Itachi Uchiha, the cold-blooded murderer of his entire clan, glared nonplussed at the blonde-haired, blue-eyed, and stupidly determined 17 year old standing in his way. Really, it was quite pathetic.

 _Why is he fighting this pointless battle? It's obvious he doesn't possess the skill to beat me, let alone leave a mark on my body? Why does he continue to fight?_

Itachi, although outwardly indifferent, had questions whirling about through his head, all pertaining to a certain jounin.

 _Ah well. This gives me a perfect opportunity to try a new jutsu I've developed. I'm sorry, otouto, but I owe him nothing._

Itachi's hands started to fly through the necessary hand signs as his chakra started to build up. This was an unnamed jutsu, the most dangerous of its kind, and forbidden by the shinobi world to use. Itachi had fought tooth and nail to get his hands on the scroll containing the necessary information to perform something so powerful, even without knowing what affects it would have.

* * *

 **Kit.**

"What's wrong, Kurama?" Naruto asked.

 **Can you feel it?**

"Feel what? Kurama-san, you're not making any sense!" Naruto cried out confused.

 **Itachi you fool! He's gathering enough chakra to devastate a village, let alone you!**

Sage mode powered eyes widening, Naruto realized just how right Kurama was. This was bad.

 **We need to get out of here, call for reinforcements!**

"What? No!" Naruto howled. "He's right here, we can't let him get away!"

 **Kit! Do you have a death wish?**

The powerful chakra continued to build.

 **I've been watching his hands this entire time, and not even I am familiar with the jutsu! Do you honestly think that you can just-**

Itachi flew through his last hand sign now feeling all powerful. Images were flashing through his mind. His memories, it seemed, but distorted. Shisui, alive and well with both eyes intact helping him learn to use his newly found Mangekyou Sharingan. Mikito, his mother, hugging him as he returned from an Anbu mission. Fugaku, his father, passing along the torch marking Itachi as the new leader of the Uchiha. Instantly, Itachi realized his mistake as he released his chakra, a blinding red flash shooting towards the unsuspecting teen, too fast to dodge. Unfortunately for Itachi, the Kyuubi no Kitsune had other plans. Red chakra flew forth from Naruto's body deflecting some of the charge, sending it rebounding back at its caster, even faster than before. Dark crimson surrounded both ninja originating from Konoha, and an obsidian colored star formed on the ground surrounding them both. They were frozen. Trapped.

"Kurama!" Naruto yelled, terrified. "What's happening?"

 **I don't know, Kit. Ask the castor! The damn Uchiha!**

"Uchiha!" Naruto bellowed. "What's happening? What jutsu did you cast?"

"I don't know," Itachi murmured.

"What?"

"I don't know," Itachi said, barely above a whisper.

"What do you mean you don't know!?" Naruto roared at the top of his lungs.

"I mean exactly what I said. I don't know," Itachi growled, his sharingan spinning around angrily. "It is a nameless jutsu that I stumbled across during my time in the Akatsuki. I have not the slightest clue as to what this jutsu will do, if anything,"

"YOU IDIOT!" Naruto screamed. "In what world is it okay to use a jutsu without knowing what it does!? I thought you were some kind of prodigy? So tell me genius, how is this-"

The ring started to glow a dangerous white.

"That's not good," Naruto gulped.

"Agreed," Itachi stated simply.

"Shit."

And with those final words, a beacon of white encased the young men for nearly five seconds, sending trees, rocks, and dirt flying in various directions throughout the forest, and then, nothing. All that was left was a faint scorch mark and a single kunai thrown by Naruto as he first encountered the Uchiha.

"We're too late," Kakashi Hatake hissed as he flew into the newly formed clearing. "No… Naruto…"


	2. Chapter 2

Hullo guys! I'm back. Oh my gosh. Thank you so much for the views and reviews! Unfortunately, my computer has decided to be an, erm, donkey, and it won't let me read them! *Sobs uncontrollably* So until I figure out what the heck I did wrong, I'm just going to continue writing this without help, and will change and update this fic accordingly when I'm able to see my lovely reviews. Thank you all for understanding, and here I go! CHARGE!

~Nikki

Snippets of conversation slowly made their way through his pounding skull as an unconscious Naruto struggled wake himself. He failed. Miserably.

"Look at the poor man!" One of the voices Naruto could pick up protested. "He's wearing a Konoha hitai-ate! He must be one of our own!"

"Rin!" Came a separate voice, sounding vaguely familiar. "Do you recognize him? Because I surely don't, and it's a _very_ clear rule that we are not, under any circumstances, to bring ninja of unknown origin into the village. Period. For all we know, he could have killed someone and stolen it in an attempt to infiltrate our ranks. Leave him be, Rin,"

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree with the bastard on this one, Rin," Came a third voice from somewhere directly beside him.

"But-"

"No, Rin," Said the second voice again. "We can't,"

Naruto heard the one called Rin let out a defeated sigh as they made a faint rustling sound which made him briefly think they might be standing. Slow crunching footsteps made their way towards him.

"Rin! You can't-" The second voice was cut off.

"I can and I will," Rin snapped. "I am a medic nin, and one of our most sacred rules is to never leave an injured comrade to their deaths. So until I know that he is, for sure, an enemy, I will heal him, and there is nothing you can do to stop me, Kakashi. The same applies to you too, Obito. Besides, don't you think he looks a lot like Sensei? What if he's some sort of long-lost relative of some sort? I mean, it's not like he knows anything about his family anyways. Wasn't he supposed to be an orphan of sorts?"

"Rin? I think you're crazy," Suggested the third voice.

"For once in my life, I think I have to agree with Obito," Said the shocked second voice.

"Hey!" Protested the one Naruto now knew was Obito. "Shut up, Kakashi-bastard!"

Naruto heard Kakashi scoff with some difficulty.

 _How can that be Kakashi? I mean, they sound similar, but this one sounds slightly… Younger? More uptight maybe?_

Suddenly, Naruto felt a flush of relief through his entire body, starting at his head, and realized that the one called Rin had started her medical ninjutsu.

 _Rin… Obito… Why are those names so familiar? I think I can vaguely recall someone talking about them once. Was it… Kakashi-sensei? That would make sense considering he's with them right now. Who are they?_

Immediately after thinking that, Naruto felt his senses returning to him and was met with a paralyzing feeling of pain. Unconsciously, he moaned out loud and his breathing started to hitch, making it hard for him to get air into his lungs. Naruto, in all his pain, couldn't make out the loud gasp of shock Rin let out.

"No!" She cried. "He must be hurt much worse than I thought originally thought. His nerves must have been in a state of shock so he could breathe. Obito! Go get Sensei! Hurry!"

"Y-yes Rin!" Obito stuttered than madly dashed off in search of their currently missing sensei.

 **Kit.**

 _Kurama…_

 **Kit. Listen to me. I am going to heal you, but the one who is trying to use medical ninjutsu on you will be injured if she retains contact. Now, all I need you to do is push chakra out of all your chakra points at the same time. It will send her flying, yes, but in the end will save her life.**

 _Chakra points? O-okay… I'll try._

Naruto's entire body clenched into itself as he felt a wave of chakra pour through him and he heard Rin scream as she was sent hurtling backwards.

"Rin!" Kakashi cried.

"Kakashi!" Rin half sobbed. "His body is rejecting my chakra! At this rate, he'll-"

Rin was cut off as a red chakra surrounded the stranger's body and he breathing started to ease up.

"Wha-what's going on? What's that red glow?" Rin asked confused.

"I-I don't know," Kakashi stated.

They both watched as the stranger, Naruto, began to loosen him muscles and relax. Slowly, startlingly blue eyes began to flutter open. Just then, Obito burst into the small clearing concealing his team immediately followed by the previously said sensei.

"Obito! Minato-sensei!" Rin yelled as they landed.

"Rin!" Minato barked. "What's going on? Obito came flying at me saying that there was some emergency and next thing I know I'm playing a game of chase with him. What's happening?"

Just then, Minato's eyes were drawn to a slow movement, as a blonde-haired blue-eyed youth who looked exactly like him sat up, wide eyes blinking in shock and his mouth moving while trying to form words, which soon came.

"That's not good,"


	3. Chapter 3

Hehe. Did you like where I left off in the last chapter? Well, I certainly do! Honestly, I was planning on making this chapter and the last one into one, but I decided that I wanted to upload one sooner, so you'll have to forgive me for the short chapters. ALSO! Some of the ages in this are going to be slightly messed up, as it's a little hard to get them all accurate, and I'd like them to fit the story as best as possible. Sorry! Reviews still aren't working, I'm sorry to say, but hopefully they will be fixed in the coming days, so keep them coming! (Please! I beg of you!) Thank you all for your support, and I'm sorry to say, but uploads are going to be a bit slow. I'm in competition season for marching band so we have a ton of work to do. Until that's over, it's going to be a bit rough. Sorry for the long-winded note, guys! Thank you all!

~Nikki

Itachi was furious. No. Furious is an understatement. Livid. Livid sounded about right, but still somehow wrong. Just not angry enough. Of course, it didn't help that the Uchiha was lying nearly unconscious in the middle of nowhere and in so much pain he couldn't even move.

"Screw this," Itachi mumbled. "I need to find that idiotic blonde and make him pay for this. Honestly otouto, how could you stand having this imbecile on your team? I'm surprised he didn't get you killed."

Groaning out, Itachi blearily opened his eyes, the pain rolling over him in waves. He struggled to stand with his legs threatening to give out at any moment until he staggered to a nearby bush to empty the contents of his already mostly food deprived stomach. Nausea now sated, Itachi straightened and applied some of the basic medical ninjutsu he had learnt over the years to the worst of his cuts and bruises.

"Now, to find the idiot. He couldn't have landed too far away from me. We were only about 15 meters apart anyways."

And so, thus began the six hour long search for the, in Itachi's opinion, damn jinchūriki. Of course, you're probably wondering why it took the infamous Uchiha, with some of the most highly revered eyes on the planet, might I add, so long to find an unconscious blonde dressed in bright orange. The answer in simple, my dear readers. Not only was he so low on chakra from using the unnamed and inconveniencing jutsu he couldn't activate his sharingan, he was in unfamiliar territory. Not to mention the fact that he was in enough pain that a normal shinobi would be unconscious. Or dead. And so, here we are, six hours later, in the presence of the most pissed off Uchiha there has ever been. And I should warn you, pissed off Uchihas pretty much mean death if you ask, well, anyone for that matter.

"Look at the poor man!" Itachi heard a young girl cry out. "He's wearing a Konoha hitai-ate! He must be one of our own!"

 _Looks like I found him…_

Itachi followed the sound of voices for what seemed like ages in his injured state and was met with a faint red glow. Recognizing this as ninetails chakra, the Uchiha rushed forward only to feel the chakra cut off. As he appeared in the side of a small clearing, he saw a sight that his brain refused to process. The Yondaime, alive and well, standing in front of both an alive Obito and Rin, with a young, sharingan-less, Kakashi.

 _There's no way… I must still be unconscious. Or maybe a genjutsu. I know this jutsu is forbidden, but jutsu that can travel back in time? That is, simply put, impossible._

"That's not good…" He heard a flabbergasted Naruto say.

"Agreed," Itachi answered, used to murmuring his irritations out loud.

Immediately, five pairs of eyes flew to Itachi as he simultaneously activated his now restored sharingan.

"Ita-" Naruto began just before he was entrapped in a genjutsu cast by the nearby Akatsuki member.

 _Inside the genjutsu_

"Naruto. Listen to me,"

Naruto opened his eyes to a pitch black darkness, and the only thing he could see was Itachi standing a few meters in front of him.

"Wha-what's going on? Where am I?" Asked a confused Naruto.

"Inside my genjutsu," Itachi answered him in a slow drawl. "Now before you interrupt me, I'm sure you've noticed something's off, no?"

Naruto's eyes grew wide as he recalled what had just happened.

"Dad! That was my dad! And he was alive! And Kakashi-sensei's old team! They're supposed to be dead too! What's going on!?"

"Hn," Itachi sighed as he raised an eyebrow.

"Now don't go acting like Sasuke-teme on me!" Naruto snarled. "I get enough of that as it is!"

"I didn't really want to explain all of this to you, but alas, it appears you are too dense to fully comprehend the gravity of this situation," Itachi sighed again.

"...Hey! Don't poke fun at me! I am not dense!" Naruto snarled at him again.

"Just let me talk to the Kyuubi no Kitsune," Itachi said.

"Why do you need to talk to him, huh? Maybe I should just-"

 **Kit?**

"What?" Naruto snapped.

 **Shut up and let me talk to him. As much as I hate the Uchiha, I need to make sure he understands what's going on.**

"Fine," Naruto snapped yet again as Itachi raised an eyebrow at him.

And with that, Kurama appeared in all his glory, only, not quite as anyone expected. With a small flash, a human was now standing at Naruto's side. He was tall. Taller than both Naruto and Itachi with heavy muscles and deep tanned skin, almost a shade darker than Naruto's own.

Two muscled arms crossed as he leaned back slightly allowing his clawed fingers to glitter maliciously. Blood red hair was set in a plait that ran halfway down his back, and framed a face broadcasting crimson, animalistic eyes. He allowed a wicked smile to cross his face revealing sharp, fang-like canines that protruded a few centimeters past his lips. Tight, low cut pants clung to his hips and a black wife beater adorned his shoulders. He wore only simple black sandals on his feet, allowing for easy movement as he leered at the young man standing before him.

"Hullo there, Uchiha," He said widening his grin at the shocked face he was met with.

Blinking twice, Itachi regained his composure enough to begin his query.

"So," He began. "Am I correct to assume you know full and well about what's going on?"

"Indeed," Answered Kurama.

"So then, am I even more correct in my assumption that we have somehow traveled back in time?"

Kurama let out a deep laugh with a manic gleam in his eyes.

"Indeed, Uchiha! Indeed!"

"Wait what!?" Naruto yelled in shock.

"You see, Kit," Kurama began, "The Uchiha cast a jutsu that was to send you back in time. However, I managed to deflect part of it and send it back at its castor, and so now, we're all stuck here, back in time, with every opportunity to destroy the future."

"That is why I pulled you into this genjutsu, Naruto," Itachi said. "Anything you say and do can and will affect the future. And you, might I remind you, were about to say my name. Now, I know we're at least 18 years in the past, since the yondaime died the day you were born, however, I don't know if I'm alive yet, and by you saying my name, that could be a huge mistake."

"Oh," Mumbled Naruto. "So, code names?"

"That would probably be a good idea," Itachi said thoughtfully.

"Er, Itachi?"

"What?"

"I _don't_ think that's a very good idea," Naruto said. "I mean, I know I suggested it, but I know for certain that I'll slip up, and if that were to happen, we'd be in deep trouble"

Itachi sighed as he looked at Naruto.

"We really should-"

"If this helps any," Kurama interrupted, "I don't think using code names is a good idea. I think you should just go with it,"

Itachi cast him an annoyed look as he glanced back towards Naruto.

"Either way, Naruto, I hate to admit this, but we need to stick together. I know you hate me, and trust me, the feeling is more than mutual, but we both know way too much, and should stay together to avoid making any and all changes to the past." Itachi explained.

"What do you mean avoid making changes? We could save my dad's life!" Naruto yelled.

"His life is not ours to save," Itachi said darkly. "We cannot afford to change the past,"

"But-"

"No, Naruto. We will continue this discussion later. We have a different problem to deal with right now," Itachi growled.

"O-okay," Naruto relented. "But Itachi?"

"Hn?"

"Why are you acting so, oh I don't know, out of character? I mean, aren't you supposed to be a cold hard killer? An S-rank missing nin? So, shouldn't you be all, er, scary I guess?"

Itachi blinked. "We're done here"

"Wait what!?" Naruto cried

 _Outside the genjutsu_

Instantly, both ninja were released from the genjutsu.

"-chi" Naruto immediately finished with a knowing look in his eyes.

"Hn," was all that Naruto was met with.

Deep blue eyes belonging to the long-dead Yondaime panned around to the both of them.

"Who the hell are you?" He asked.

* * *

Guys please help me! I can finally see reviews (yay!) and I'd really like to know where you want it to go from here! Should we take them straight back to Konaha, or should we wait? Please, leave your opinion as I really would love to start the next chapter. Also, I'd love it if you'd point out any grammer, spelling, or just minor discrepancies you find. Thank you and I love you all!

~Nikki


	4. Chapter 4

Oh my God! I totally uploaded this on Friday but forgot to add it as a new chapter! I'm so stupid! Sorry about the long wait guys!

* * *

Alright guys, so here's the deal; I really don't know where I want to go with this, as in, I don't know if I want Naruto and Itachi to go to Konoha, or if they should leave and come back later, so I'm just going to have them head away with Minato. Where to, though, you'll just have to se, ne? I absolutely adore reviews, so if you're in the like, 10% that actually reads the author's note, PLEASE! Tell me what you think! Also, just so that the story can make complete sense, I'm going to go a little outside of the cannon to make sure everything works. Please understand that I cannot make everything 100% correctly tied to the story line. Sorry! Thank you and I love you all!

~Nikki

"Who the hell are you?" Minato asked.

"That depends on who you are," Itachi commented.

"What the hell Itachi?" Naruto said. "You're going to make them think that we're spies or something!"

Naruto promptly started towards the Uchiha, most likely to knock some sense into him, but was halted as he saw the look in his eyes.

"Please ignore the idiot to my left," Itachi continued nonchalantly. "What I mean by that is, simply put, are you friend or are you foe?"

Itachi, glancing at the faces of the three genin (or so he assumed), saw confusion written all over the faces of the girl and boy with orange goggles. Kakashi, however, seemed to understand the situation entirely.

 _Well,_ Itachi thought, _he wasn't considered a genius for nothing._

"Huh?" Obito finally asked after a few moments of silence.

"Baka," Kakashi snorted.

 _As expected_ , _I suppose_ , Naruto thought as a grin spread across his face _. They remind me a lot of Sasuke and I. Sasuke… Sakura… Everyone… Will I ever see them again? Will we ever be able to go home?_ The grin faded slightly.

"Hey! You're the baka, Kakashi-teme!" Obito cried.

"Sure, Obito," Kakashi sneered with a superior look in his eyes. "So, can you tell me what's going on then?"

"O-of course I can! You see-" Obito was abruptly cut off.

"Silence! Both of you!" Minato roared making his team flinch as they knew he was not prone to yelling much.

Itachi surprised himself as he felt a small smirk trying to fight its way to the surface of his face.

 _They really are just how Mother described them. It's very intriguing to see the way Kakashi changed from the arrogant child he used to be. He can't be older than eight right now, can he?_

Minato glanced at the one called Itachi. He had a very well hidden smirk on his face, while as his partner to the left had a small grin on his face. Minato again noticed the similarities between him and the blonde, causing him to shiver slightly.

 _That boy…_ Minato thought. _He looks like a spitting image of me. If he just rearranged his hair a little bit, he might just…_

Glancing back at Itachi he could tell that the mystery ninja had noticed his shiver.

"Curious about my partner, are you?" Itachi mused.

Minato's eyes flew back to the ninja shrouded in a black cloak. Something about him seemed distinctly familiar. Uchiha-like, if you would.

 _I recognise him. I wouldn't be surprised if he was an Uchiha from Anbu or something. He certainly has that air about him, and that would definitely explain why I don't know him. Yet somehow, I really don't feel like he's from Konoha, despite what my "twin's" hitai-ate bears. And if I've learned anything throughout my time as a ninja, it's to always,_ always, _trust your instincts._

"Tell me, Itachi. Are you familiar with a ninja by the name of Uchiha Fugaku?" Minato asked.

"I am," Itachi stated simply.

 _It appears the Yondaime is very quick on the uptake,_ Itachi thought.

 _Already!?_ Naruto thought, _Dang, he's so quick on the uptake. My dad's awesome! I mean, I've already met him, but still, he's awesome!_

"Have you met him?" Minato continued with his questioning.

"I have," Itachi continued with his monosyllable answers.

 _I'm right_ , Minato thought with confidence. _He is an Uchiha, I just know it._

"All right then," Minato started. "So would you agree with the statement that you look strikingly like the man himself?"

Itachi scoffed.

 _And so it begins_ , Itachi thought as he readied himself.

"I should think so," Itachi gave Minato a knowing look. "He is my brother after all."

Sorry for the short chapter guys, but I wanted to leave you on a cliff hanger! Please review and help me find my mistakes! Thank you!

~Nikki


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5_

Hi guys… You probably hate me, huh? Ehehe… I have no excuse. I mean I do, but you probably don't care, so I'll just leave you with an apology. I'm sorry… Also, I am so sorry if the last chapter was confusing but all will be explained shortly. I love reading the reviews, as they really make my day, and my story. Oh, and also, I'm going to go back and revise some of my earlier chapters so that they flow more smoothly. Also, the viewpoint will be switching around to who I think is most important at the time in the story, as I'm sure you've already noticed. Just a heads up! I love you all!

~Nikki

"I should think so," Itachi gave Minato a knowing look. "He is my brother after all."

A shocked silence followed Itachi's statement.

 _There's no way,_ Minato thought. _Fugaku did not have brother, and even if he did, why would he be_ here _of all places, not within the village?_

Minato quickly recovered and started to take stock of the situation. Glancing around, he saw confusion and shock on Rin's disbelieving face. Kakashi, Minato could see, was also in a state of shock, even if outwardly he looked mostly unfazed. Obito, however, was the odd one out. Unlike Kakashi and Rin, he look to be in awe, rather than shocked or confused. However, it was the blonde's reaction that interested him the most. He was looking at the Uchiha with both disbelief and utter horror etched into his face.

"You _idiot!"_ The blonde crowed while slapping his palm to his forehead, shocking Minato even more. "Why the _hell_ would you say that now!?"

"Calm yourself, Naruto," the Uchiha said. "We should at least introduce ourselves formally, so they don't kill us on the spot."

"You know, I am really regretting my decision to let you take the lead on this one." Naruto snarled.

"Well then, Naruto," Itachi said, a low growl concealed in his voice. "Go ahead. You take on the role as leader. Show me how it should be done properly then."

"Er…" The the blonde, now dubbed as Naruto, mumbled. "Nevermind. Carry on."

The Uchiha huffed and continued. "My name is Itachi Uchiha, biological younger brother of Fugaku Uchiha. The idiotic blonde over there is named Naruto. He's my student and companion on our journey to Konoha."

 _Idiotic indeed…_ Minato thought.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't Naruto have a clan name as well?" Minato inquired.

"Actually-" Naruto started but was abruptly cut off.

"No," Itachi said. "He doesn't. You see Naruto here was abandoned at birth with nothing but a label with his name on it, and the blanket he was swaddled in. Or so I've been told."

"That's quite the story there, Naruto. You'll have to forgive me for wanting some proof." Minato said glancing at him with a cold look. "However, It's Itachi's story that I struggle to believe most of all. I've lived in Konoha a very long time, and I've never heard of an Itachi Uchiha before. So I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you'll have to-"

"Actually Sensei," Obito cut him off, "His story might be true. I mean I know it sounds a little fishy, but there really was an Itachi Uchiha. I don't know any exact details, but I do know that he was never registered as an official citizen of Konoha, and was kidnapped when he was like, five or something."

"What?" Minato snapped.

"I-it's really true, Sensei!" Obito said defensively. "You can ask Mikoto-sama about it! Every year on the same day Fugaku-sama dresses in all black and doesn't leave his manor unless there's an emergency. I've seen it! So, I asked Mikoto-sama about it and she told me. That was a couple of years ago though... I don't quite remember everything. Still though, he might be telling the truth!"

"The truth indeed…" Minato murmured. "I'm sorry to say, but you two need to come with me."

"Sensei!" Kakashi gasped. "Are we really going to-"

"Yes Kakashi," Minato said. "We're taking them to the village.


	6. Chapter 6

Hello everyone! Did you enjoy the last chapter? I certainly hope so, as it was really fun to write, and I got a few chuckles out of it myself. Moving right along, thank you to everyone who reviewed, as they really made my day, and encourage me to write more! To those of you following this story, I have a request! I know reviewing can be boring, or even a waste of time, but if you can, even if you just say you read it, I would hugely appreciate it, as that will help me get chapters out faster. Alright! Thanks for listening to me yammer. I love you all!

~Nikki

"Yes Kakashi," Minato said. "We're taking them to the village."

Yet another round of shocked silence followed Minato's statement as Naruto glanced over at Itachi.

 _What is he thinking? Itachi's the one who didn't want us to mess with the past in the first place, so why let them take us back to the village? Damn… I really wish I knew what he was he had in mind. That would make things so much simpler…_

 **Really, Kit,** Kurama interrupted Naruto's thoughts, **You should try and reason stuff out yourself for a change.**

 _What do you mean?_ Naruto questioned.

 **Simple. The only way to get out of the situation you two are in would be to either fight, or to go along peacefully with everyone here. As much as I'm sure Itachi hates to admit it, your father was a Hokage for a reason, and fighting him might have ended in unnecessary death. Which, by the way, means Minato could have never become Hokage, or one of the pipsqueak genin here might have gotten injured or killed. Even worse, you or Itachi might have gotten killed, which means things back in our time might never get sorted out. I hate it, but it seems you'll need to trust Itachi for a while.**

 _What about you, Kurama?_ Naruto asked.

 **What do you mean?**

 _Do you trust Itachi?_

 **No. Not as far as I can throw him, which might be pretty far, so never mind.** Kurama said. **I do, however, trust you, Naruto, so if you're willing, I'll just follow your lead for now.**

 _Thanks, Kyuu._ Naruto thought with a smile that did not go unnoticed by Minato.

 **Any time Kit.**

And with that, their connection was severed for the time being. Naruto glanced around at the faces of the three genin and felt his smile widen a little.

 _Kakashi sure was cute when he was little. Hehe… He's gonna be so pissed when I get back and start rubbing in just how puny he looked as a genin._ Once again, Naruto's smile got even brighter and Kakashi, being on the receiving end, squirmed a little.

"Something amusing there, blondie?" Minato inquired.

Naruto's head snapped around to face him the smile only becoming more extensive at that.

"Not at all, sir," Naruto answered. "But we've already introduced ourselves, and if we're going to be making the journey back with everyone here, it would be kind if nice to know your names."

"I'm sorry," Minato started. "But you'll just have to-"

"I'm Obito Uchiha, the strongest genin in the entirety of Konoha and future Hokage!" Obito interrupted his sensei.

"Obito," Kakashi growled. "Sensei was just about to tell them no."

"He was not Kakashi-teme!" Obito protested. "You weren't, were you Minato-sensei?"

A resounding slapping sound make itself known as Minato's palm came in contact with his forehead.

"Yes, Obito," Minato ground out. "Yes I _was_ about to tell them no. But I suppose It doesn't really matter now as they know all of our names except Rin's, now does it?"

Obito looked at the ground. "Sorry Sensei…"

"I suppose it couldn't be helped," Minato said. "I guess I'll introduce us then. As you heard before, this," He said gesturing to Obito, "is Obito Uchiha. The one with the silver hair in known as Kakashi Hatake, and the only girl over there is Rin Nohara. They're my genin team. I myself am known as Minato Namikaze. It's a pleasure, I suppose."

"The yellow flash…" Itachi murmured.

"Indeed, Uchiha," Minato agreed.

Naruto looked his father over again, still in awe of being in the presence of an _alive_ Minato. He looked exactly the same as he had when Naruto had seen him, standard jounin clothes, a weapons pouch, and slight lines around his mouth that made it look like he smiled a lot. Naruto looked over at Rin, remembering how the first thing she had tried to do was help him, and softened his smile a bit. She was just as Kakashi had described her back in Naruto's reality. A sweet looking girl stood there with soft hazel eyes, short brown hair, and a caring expression on her face.

Making up his mind, Naruto picked a pink flower from the ground and crossed the small space in between them and sank to one knee to be at eye level with Rin, his soft smile never faltering.

"Wha-what?" She stuttered.

"Hey," Minato snapped. "Blondie. What are you doing with my student?"

Ignoring Minato, Naruto raised his hand and tucked the flower in Rin's hair, watching her shocked expression at the action.

"Consider that an apology," Naruto said. "I really didn't mean to send you flying earlier. I just didn't know who you were and was trying to defend myself."

 _Sorry to lie,_ Naruto thought. _But the truth is too dangerous._

"You're not hurt, are you?" Naruto asked.

"N-no," Rin stuttered. "I-I'm just f-fine."

Naruto's expression brightened at these words.

"I'm glad then," Naruto said as he delicately grabbed Rin's hand and kissed the back.

"Then consider that a thank you for trying to save my life, even if you had to defy your team."

Rin squeaked as her eyes went huge and she turned comically red.

"S-s-s-sure," She gasped.

Naruto released her hand and stood up, crossing back over to stand by Itachi, a faint sparkle of mischief in his eyes.

 **KIT!** Kurama roared.

 _Yes Kurama?_ Naruto asked innocently.

 **What the** _ **hell**_ **was that!?** Kurama continued. **You never act like that, all cool, calm and gentlemanly. Have you gone mad? Did you hit your head when we landed? Just what the hell is going on here!?**

 _No Kurama,_ Naruto thought. _This is exactly like me._

 **How so?** Kurama snarled.

 _Well…_ Naruto started. _DID YOU SEE KAKASHI AND OBITO'S FACES WHEN I DID THAT!? THEY LOOKED LIKE THEY WERE GOING TO KILL ME! IT WAS FANTASTIC! THIS IS OFFICIALLY MY BEST PRANK EVER!_

The same slapping sound from before echoed through Naruto's head as Kurama smacked his own palm into his forehead.

 **You're an idiot.** Kurama stated.

 _Hey!_ Naruto thought indignantly. _I resent that remark._

 **You should, Kit. You should…**

Once again the connection was severed, and Naruto glanced to where Itachi was standing. Itachi, of course, had not missed the faint glimmer in Naruto's eye before and was sending him a look of disapproval. Said blonde was repressing the urge to chuckle, and missed Itachi's look completely.

"Well, if we're all done with introductions and apologies, then let's go," Minato said.

"To Konoha?" Naruto asked.

"To Konoha." Minato agreed.


	7. Chapter 7

Bonjour! Comment allez-vous? I hope you're all well! If you can tell from the minute amount of French, I'm attempting to learn the language. I've always wanted to honestly! Anyways, I would like to give a quick shout out to a couple people. First off, thank you to **WolfCoyote.** Your reviews always make me laugh and I look forward to receiving more. Next, a shout out to **TigrezzTail** for predicting the future. A sly grin to you Sir (Or Madam I'm not really sure. Either way though…). Oh well. Also, not that you care, but thank you to Natewantstobattle for providing me with awesome music while I write! Anyways, to everyone who has reviewed, thank you! They make me feel incredible and give me encouragement to write. Okay, here we go. Thank you and I love you all!

~Nikki

"Well, if we're all done with introductions and apologies, then let's go," Minato said.

"To Konoha?" Naruto asked.

"To Konoha." Minato agreed.

Minato watched as a flicker of satisfaction made itself known in Itachi's eyes, so fast it was nearly imperceivable. Everything else about him, however, remained unchanged. His posture, body language, and even the rest of his face remained impassive, obviously trained to remain emotionless. Slightly unnerved, the jounin decided to keep a close eye on the Uchiha, not sure what exactly he was planning. Itachi gave off the same eerie aura that many Anbu members did, which worried Minato. Anbu, after all, were trained killers.

Minato abruptly spun on his heel and started marching back in the direction of his home, jolting the rest of the group into action As they started to fall in behind the determined man, he froze suddenly and seemed to consider something for a moment.

"Blondie. Uchiha," He said without turning around. "I want you directly in front of me. Kakashi, you take the lead please."

"Yes, Sensei," Kakashi consented as he walked to the front of the group and started out once more.

Itachi quietly made his way towards Minato but stopped when he realized Naruto wasn't following. Turning around, the Uchiha raised a delicate eyebrow at him in question, obviously wondering what the holdup was. Disgruntled, Naruto snorted and began to walk, exhaling sharply through his nose as he made his way past Itachi and muttered, "He does know I have a name, right?"

"Indeed I do," Minato said in a half snarl, overhearing what Naruto said. "I just don't think you're worthy of that name."

Naruto's eyes widened slightly in shock and hurt, again realizing that his name originated in one of Jiraya's books, as the main protagonist.

 _He doesn't think I'm worthy of following in Ero-sennin's footsteps,_ Naruto thought. _Well screw that! He gave me this name for a reason, and I have no obligation to prove it to him. Even if… even if he's no longer with me, I know Ero-sennin was proud of me, and that's all that matters. I don't need_ this _Minato's recognition. I already got it from my dad, in my reality, and I don't need it again._

Even as Naruto thought that, he felt an immense sadness rise up in his heart, and twin pinpricks of pain were trying to make their way into the backs of his eyes. Ignoring the hurt, Naruto plastered a small fake smile on his face as he walked past Minato, not realizing that had seen the pain in his eyes already. As Naruto fell in behind mini-Kakashi, he could feel eyes on his back, staring at him intensely. Ignoring this, the blonde kept his eyes straight ahead, ignoring the fact that his own father, knowing or not, had just hurt him worse than any amount of villages ever had before.

* * *

Minato glanced back to Itachi, gesturing for him to go ahead of him so he could keep an eye on the both of them. Itachi complied, taking slow steps to work his way past the jounin. As Itachi passed him, Minato was shocked to feel anger coming off the Uchiha, as he had already noted down that Itachi did not show much emotion. What surprised him even more though, was the fact that the anger seemed to be aimed at him, after he had made his last comment towards the blonde teen.

 _I suppose he did say that Naruto was his student, so it would make sense that he is angry in the blonde's behalf,_ the jounin sensei thought. _What the hell did I say to upset him like that though? I mean, I doubt he's read Jiraya-sensei's book, so what did I say? I've seen upset people before, but that… that was actually kind of frightening. For as obnoxious and loud as he was earlier, I never would have thought he could pull an expression like that. He looked so… alone. Like Kakashi did after he lost his father, but deeper than that._

 _Argh! What am I doing, brooding over an expression like that? It must be my sensei instincts kicking in, wanting to help him like I am Kakashi._

Minato lept into the branches of the trees sensing Obito and Rin quickly following behind.

 _He's not my problem, not my priority. Right now I just need to concentrate on getting these two back to the village. Making sure they're not threats. I'll just forget about that for now, it's not my fault there's a war right now so I can't trust these two. Damn…_

Minato looked down at the branches flying beneath his feet for a moment, still feeling incredibly guilty. He sensed eyes on him and quickly looked up only to make eye contact with the Uchiha in front of him. Seeing his guilty expression, Itachi looked back ahead feeling satisfied with Minato's state of mind. Training his eyes on the blonde in front of him, Itachi could see his stiff posture and wondered if what Minato said bothered him that much. Making up his mind, Itachi took a long leap to land on the branch next to Naruto, ready to question the young blonde.

* * *

 _I'm still being watched,_ Naruto thought stiffening even further. _Who the hell is staring at me?_

Feeling a small rush of wind at his side, Naruto glanced over and was startled to see Itachi land on the branch next to him. Judging his expression, Naruto could see that he was considering something while looking intently at the jinchūriki.

 _Great,_ Naruto thought. _Now I have two people staring at me._

"What?" Naruto asked.

"You seem upset," Itachi answered simply.

"What do you care?" Naruto asked sharply.

"I don't, really," the Uchiha said. "I just want to make sure your being upset isn't going to cause you to make any rash decisions."

"I'm fine, thanks for asking," Naruto snarled glaring at him.

"Fine then. Why are you so stiff?" Itachi questioned.

"Oh," Naruto said slightly confused. "Someone has been staring at me since we left the clearing we were in."

Unsurprised, Itachi glanced back discreetly and saw Rin staring at Naruto's back in a wondering fashion, as if wanting Naruto to look back, but also praying the he would stay looking forward.

"It looks as if you have a fan," Itachi said, amusement coating his voice as he looked back to Naruto.

"Huh?" Naruto asked glancing back and locking eyes with the young kunoichi.

Noting Rin's startled expression, Naruto sent her what he thought to be a soft, reassuring smile. To Rin, however, it was as if everything in existence had lost its color except for the blonde's face. Naruto watched as her jaw dropped slightly and her face was overcome with a blush to rival one of Hinata's best. Quickly, an embarrassed Rin hid behind Obito, breaking the moment of brief contact between the two. It was only then that the blonde realized his mistake. Naruto recalled Kakashi telling him about the way Rin had chased him when they were on the same team.

 **Flashback**

Kakashi snorted as Naruto finished complaining about the way Sakura still obsessed over Sasuke, even after all this time.

"You think Sakura's bad, you should have met Rin," Kakashi said.

"Rin?" Naruto asked slightly confused.

"My old teammate," Kakashi clarified. "She too was a bit of a fangirl."

"How so?" Naruto asked.

"Well, she was always pretty obsessed with me, even if I never returned the affection. She was constantly trying to get me to go on dates with her, though she was much more subtle than Sakura. She also was always trying to plan celebrations for everything I ever did, from becoming a chunin to my birthday. It was really quite annoying sometimes. Either way though, one time I went over to her house to pick her up for a mission because she was late, and I noticed her closet was a little open.

"At first I thought nothing of it, but then I saw something through the crack. It was a shrine. She had gone so far as to make a shrine for me, Naruto. I don't think you understand how immensely terrifying that was. I quickly shut her closet and ran for it, and from that day forth, I never looked at her the same way again."

Horrified, Naruto glanced at his sensei and saw a terrifying expression on his face.

"You don't think… You don't think… That Sakura has…" Naruto gasped.

Both student and teacher slowly looked at Sakura with horrified expressions on their faces as Sakura bent down and picked up a lock of hair that had been sliced if of Sasuke's head while he and Naruto sparred.

Eyes shining, Sakura whispered, "Sasuke's hair… I might die of happiness!"

And it was that moment that Naruto decided he was no longer interested in Haruno Sakura.

 **Present time (But technically in the past)**

Naruto again turned and watched as Rin peeked out from behind Obito and instead look at Kakashi, and a seemingly disgusted expression made itself known on her face. Looking back at Naruto, Rin realised he was watching her. Blushing yet again, she shyly smiled at him and ducked back behind Obito.

Horrified, Naruto murmured aloud, "That's not good…"

Itachi smirked. "You brought it upon yourself."

And with a slight whimper, Kakashi, Naruto, Itachi, Minato, Obito, and Rin arrived on the main path, only a few meters away from the main gate.

"Uchiha, Blondie," Minato said, "Welcome to Konoha."


	8. Chapter 8

Ahh the weekend… So much time to write. And sleep. J'aime beaucoup dormir. Anyways, are you all getting excited for Itachi and Naruto to finally arrive back in Konoha? I sure as heck am. I really need to build the chapter outline first, but I decided I wanted to give a shout out to a certain someone who made me smile. If you don't care about that, then good day to you! You may read ahead and go on with the story. It's fun, I swear. If you do care, then here I go! To **SleeplessForest27,** your review on the last chapter caught my eye, as well as on the chapters you've commented on before. I just thought I should make known that that particular part honestly was hard to write, as I love Minato and I don't like portraying him as the antagonist, as well as it made me hurt for Naruto. But fear not! I have a plan for the future, so hang in there! Also, I really appreciate your reviews and reading them makes me smile. To the rest of you whom have reviewed/followed/favorited, thank you! It means a ton! And so now, onwards! Thank you and I love you all!

~Nikki

"Uchiha, Blondie," Minato said, "Welcome to Konoha."

Naruto froze in his tracks and gasped slightly as he took in the sight of his village laid out in front of him, only slightly different than how he remembered it from his childhood, before it was partially destroyed by Orochimaru, that is. After recovering from the initial shock, a wide grin spread across the young ninja's face as he gazed over at the stone faces, seeing only three instead of the five he was used to. Laughing slightly Naruto turned to face Itachi who was also gazing at the village with a bit of wonder that not even the ex-Akatsuki could hide. The men locked eyes and a quick moment of understanding passed between the two. They really were in the past, and they only had each other to lean on. Looking away Naruto wondered if there really was any way that he could ever get along with the arrogant murderer.

Minato, seeing the two's brief exchange pulled his team to the side and leaned down.

"Obito, Rin, Kakashi," He said. "I have jobs for you all."

Minato could practically feel holes being burned into his side as the Uchiha stared intently at him, obviously wondering what they were saying. Unfortunately for Minato, he failed to think about the fact that Itachi was indeed an Uchiha, and possessed the Sharingan. Activating it, Itachi had the ability to read everyone's lips perfectly, so he spared no time in doing so.

"Rin," Minato began. "I need you to do a big favor for me, okay?"

"What's up, Sensei?" The young girl asked.

"I know technically we were only in the woods for training, but I need you to write up a missions report, as detailed as you can, okay?" Minato asked.

"Sure Sensei," She agreed. "But do you mind if I ask why?"

"Of course not," Minato said. "You see, since we're bringing two ninja of unknown origins into the village, it's best if we have record of where they came from, who they said they were, and exactly what they looked like, so that way, if they're lying, we can see the differences in stories from what we have written on the report. Of course, I'll look it over when you're done and add in any details I remember, but you writing the main portion for me would be a huge help, since I need to take these two to the Hokage."

"Of course Minato-sensei! I'll go right now!" Rin cried as she spun around and dashed off towards her home, eager to help her sensei out in any way possible.

"Obito, you're next," Minato said beckoning the orange goggle clad boy closer. "I need you to head to the Uchiha complex and get Fugaku to go to the Hokage tower and under no circumstances are you to take no for an answer. This is a personal request from me, and I expect you to tell him that as well as we may have found an MIA Uchiha, so we need the clan head there immediately, okay?"

Obito gulped at the thought of having to face Fugaku as he was quite scary in the boy's opinion, but nodded anyways as he too shot off, only in the direction of the Uchiha Complex.

"Okay Kakashi," Minato murmured so quietly it was almost inaudible. "I need you to be as fast as you possibly can okay?"

"Yes Sensei," Kakashi instantly agreed.

"I need you to go get Inoichi Yamanaka from the Torture and Interrogation unit and bring him to Hokage-sama's office, okay? This is the most important task out of the three, and I need it done quickly and efficiently. No dawdling. Tell Inoichi-san that this is a direct request from me under the assumption that these two are spies. However, I don't want anyone to know about it, and I especially don't want those two," Minato gestured with his head at Naruto and Itachi, "to know who he is. Be fast. Now go." Minato hadn't even finished as Kakashi took off in the direction of the Anbu headquarters.

Dusting himself off as he stood from his crouch, Minato stood to face Itachi and Naruto once again. Itachi, anticipating this action, had already released the Sharingan and was under no threat of being discovered by the young jounin, which relieved him greatly. Although he was sure he could talk his way out of it, Itachi really did not want to waste any more time building his ever growing web of lies.

 _Torture and Interrogation, huh?_ Itachi thought. _Should have known this wasn't going to be easy. I'll have to warn Naruto, but I can't activate my Sharingan with Minato watching me. Damn… This is going to take some stealth._

"Come on, then," Minato said taking the lead as he walked through the gates leading to Konoha. The gate guards, who Itachi couldn't recognize, said small greetings to Minato as he passes by. Minato looked in their direction and inclined his head, a serious expression on his face.

"I'd like to be able to see the both of you," The jounin said. "Since you don't know where you're going, I'd like the two of you to walk beside me. It'll make me feel less like you're about to take off at any given moment and allow me to trust you a little."

Minato turned his head to face them both.

"Come on then," He said gesturing to his side.

With a small chuckle Naruto fell in step beside the slightly taller blonde watching Itachi do the same.

"I feel like a child with the way you're addressing me," Naruto said, sounding faintly amused. "Would you like me to hold your hand as well?"

Shooting Naruto a pissed off look Minato ignored his look alike and continued on towards the tower in the distance.

"Aw, come on," Naruto said the amusement in his voice ever growing. "Don't be like that. Haven't you ever heard of a joke, Minato-sensei?"

The Yellow Flash stiffened about to deck the mocking blonde, but was beaten to the punch.

"Naruto," Itachi snapped. "Be still. Remember your place."

Clenching his jaw, Naruto scoffed and looked away, obviously pissed about something. Minato was about to ask the young man what his problem was when, once again, he was interrupted, except this time by a startlingly feminine voice.

"Minato-kun! What's with the doppelgänger?"

* * *

Naruto froze and strangled back a strangled sob.

 _Mom…_ Naruto thought as he felt his heart break in two as conflicting emotions tore through his heart for the second time that day.

Minato turned around to greet the fiery haired woman seeming to momentarily forget about his two suspicious companions. Naruto, however, remained frozen and refused to turn around, knowing that if he did before he mentally prepared himself that he would have a mental breakdown. Slowly, he took a deep breath steadying himself as he started to turn.

 **Kit,** Kurama caught him. **Wait. Before you turn around I have a suggestion to make.**

 _What's up, Kurama?_ Naruto asked confused.

 **You remember earlier, when you did that stupid thing with the girl?** Kurama asked.

 _Uh, yeah. Why?_ Naruto asked, even more confused than earlier.

 **Well, I was thinking… You know how loud and obnoxious you usually are?** Kurama said.

 _Hey! I resent that remark!_ Naruto snapped.

 **Yeah yeah yeah. Anyways, I was thinking, and I noticed when you did that you seemed much more calm than normal. Since we're in the past your tendency to blurt stuff out before you think could become a danger.**

 _O-oh. Sorry Kurama,_ Naruto apologized, slightly ashamed.

 **Don't worry about it Kit,** Kurama reassured him. **Your personality has done a lot of good things for you. Take Tsunade for example. Getting past that, I think it would be best if you kept using that charismatic, calm, and thoughtful personality on you for a while, just while we're here in the past, to try and prevent any incidents.**

 _But Kyuu,_ Naruto argued using his pet name for Kurama. _I'm not used to acting that way! I'll just mess up!_

 **Not to worry, Naruto,** Kurama rumbled on. **Depending on how long we are stuck here in the past, we may not even have to worry about that. You see, if we are only here for a little while, then it won't really matter, and you can go back to being your loud self immediately. However, if we are stuck here for a long time, you'll eventually get so used to it that it's like you've always been like that, so you shouldn't have any problems.**

 _I don't know…_ Naruto thought.

 **Naruto, please,** Kurama begged. **Just try it, okay?**

 _Ugh fine. Only for you, Kurama,_ Naruto relented.

 **Thank you, Kit,** Kurama said.

 _Alright, now to meet my mom. Again,_ Naruto thought uncertainly.

 **You've got this, Kit,** Kurama assured him. **Just remember what I said, okay?**

 _Got it. Charismatic, calm, and thoughtful. I've got this._

Now determined, Naruto turned around with a slight smile on his face, ready to meet his mother.

Minato, who had been engaged in conversation explaining how he found these two, felt as the blonde next to him spun around, to face the redhead across from him. The jounin could easily see the shock on Kushina's face at how similar he and Naruto looked.

"Oh wow," Kushina gasped. "He looks exactly like you! Just let the hair down a little and get rid of the scars on his face, and BAM! You have a mini-Minato. Are you sure he's not your brother?"

"Yes, Kushina," Minato sighed, obviously having heard this question before. "I'm sure my parents never had another child."

"Humph," Kushina huffed. "I'm certain he's related to you. Call it, woman's intuition."

Minato slapped his palm to his forehead once again that day, before deciding to introduce Naruto to Kushina.

"Blondie," Minato snapped. "This is Uzumaki Kushina, another jounin of this village."

Eyes brightening, Naruto turned and smiled at Kushina excitedly, giving off the appearance that he was glad to see her. Kushina, on the other hand, gasped at how handsome he looked when smiling.

 _Almost as good as Minato..._ Kushina thought almost dreamily. _Wait what!? What the hell did I just think!? Minato isn't handsome! He's-he's, aesthetically pleasing. Yeah, that's it. No way, not handsome at all._ Kushina finished blushing.

Minato, seeing the blush, mistook it as a sign that Kushina was flattered by the blonde to his left, so he took action without thinking as he was overcome by a shock of jealousy. Minato's elbow, aimed at Naruto's jaw, flew out faster than almost anyone could see. Key word being almost. Itachi, witnessing the narrowing of Minato's eyes and way he arranged his stance, anticipated the attack, and fazed forward just as the jealous blonde aimed to hit Naruto, and easily caught the attack while twisting, sending Minato flying towards Kushina, with his face landing in a position that would soon bring forth what would come to be known as the first time the Yellow Flash almost died.

You see, poor off balanced Minato's face landed smack in the middle of unsuspecting Kushina's bosom, successfully motor boating himself, intentionally or not. Time seemed to freeze for a moment as both Minato and Kushina realized what just happened. Half screaming Minato jumped away as fast as he could instantly starting to apologize, and probably would have been successful in calming her rage, had it not been for the trail of blood that started its way down his face. Seeing this, the Red Hot Habanero came to life, a certain bloodlust in her eyes.

"NAMIKAZE!" She roared.

"It was an accident!" Minato cried out helplessly. "I didn't mean to do that!"

"YOU'RE DEAD!" Kushina snarled as went for his throat.

Spinning around, Minato was about to run for his life when he realized he still had Naruto and Itachi to worry about. Hesitating a moment too long, Kushina grabbed him by his collar and proceeded to beat the crap out of him.

"This is what you get," Kushina grunted between punches, "for being a perverted asshole!"

Ignoring everything that was happening in the background, Itachi calmly turned to Naruto.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"Um, yeah. I think so," Naruto muttered his eyes still transfixed on the scene taking place before him. "Um, Itachi?"

"Hn?"

"Why did you do that?" Naruto asked.

"Do what?" Itachi replied, confused.

"Defend me, I mean," Naruto responded.

"What do you mean?" Itachi said, perplexed.

"Well," Naruto began. "You've kind of been a really big ass the entire time we've been here, so I was just wondering what the hell influenced you to do something like, well, that," Naruto finished as he pointed at the beating happening a few yards away.

Yelps of pain and snarls of "This is why you don't mess with women" and "I knew you were a pervert" could be heard from the direction of the two jounin.

Itachi, realizing what Naruto was talking about, was faintly shocked to realized that he had acted purely out of instinct and a sort of protectiveness he used to have for his younger brother. Internally shaking away those thought, Itachi came up with a fast lie.

"I was worried that if he bruised your cheek, everyone would be able to see your bizarre healing abilities and start asking questions," Itachi said sounding bored.

"Damn you," Naruto cursed. "Just when I was starting to think you weren't that bad of a guy, you go and tell me that you only helped me for selfish purposes."

Itachi smirked to himself when Naruto bought his story, satisfied that he wasn't going to have to tell the boy he'd acted only on instinct. Glancing over and realizing that the beating was coming to an end, Itachi remembered how he'd wanted to talk to Naruto in a genjutsu and tell him about everything he'd overheard. Looking back at the glaring blonde, Itachi activated his sharingan.

"Naruto," He said.

"What now, teme?" Naruto snapped.

Slightly irritated at his new nickname, Itachi scowled at Naruto.

"I need to talk to you about something important. I'm going to cast a genjutsu on you," Itachi said.

"You could at least ask my permission! Honestly, you're so-"

 _Inside the Genjutsu_

"Naruto, this is incredibly important," Itachi said, a serious note in his eyes. "You remember when Minato pulled his team off to the side?"

"Yeah. What about it?" Naruto asked.

"Well, it appears he sent Rin to write a report, Obito to fetch Fugaku, and Kakashi to retrieve Yamanaka Inoichi from Torture and Interrogation," Itachi said his eyes never leaving Naruto's, trying to ingrain just how important this was into his head.

"Yeah, I know. What about it?" Naruto asked again.

"Well, you see-" Itachi stopped short. "Wait a minute, what do you mean you know?"

"I know as in I know," Naruto said raising an eyebrow at Itachi. "I heard them."

"How the hell could you have heard them?" Itachi asked more than a little irritated, thinking that Naruto was just saying them to spite him. "I couldn't even hear them.

"Isn't it obvious, Mr. Protégé? I have Kurama, so he enhances my sight, smell, and hearing," Naruto smirked. "I would have thought you of all people would have figured that out."

Irritated but not surprised, Itachi mentally slapped himself for not thinking of that possibility.

"How did you know that, anyways?" Naruto asked. "You just told me yourself you couldn't hear them."

"I used my sharingan to read their lips," Itachi murmured, still slightly upset with himself for letting the young blonde get the upper hand on him.

"Oh yeah," Naruto said. "I remember using that to beat Kakashi-sensei in a fight once."

"Hmm?" Itachi asked not certain how Naruto would have used that of all things to beat the legendary Copy Nin in battle.

"Never mind," Naruto mused. "That's a story for another time. Anyways, what's the matter?"

Physically shaking himself, Itachi looked at the young blonde questioningly, but decided to take his advice.

"You have met Inoichi before, haven't you?" Itachi questioned him.

"Yeah, sure. Ino intrdouced me one time when he came to pick her up from training," Naruto said

"Naruto, he was made the head of Torture and Interrogation for a reason. We need to have matching stories, because if we don't, then they'll know we're lying," Itachi said.

Naruto paled visibly. "Oh. Shit."

Itachi scoffed. "Oh shit indeed."

"So then," Naruto began. "We need to come up with a matching story?"

"Indeed," Itachi answered.

 _Time skip because you'll learn all of this later (;_

"Alright then, Naruto, are you set?" Itachi asked.

"Yeah, I'm all good to go," Naruto answered.

"Do you mind if I ask you a question then?" Itachi said.

"Not at all," Naruto responded, curious.

"Why are you behaving differently than normal?" Itachi asked. "Your personality, I mean. You seem more, calm, I guess. Not that it's a bad thing, but still, I'm curious."

"Gee thanks," Naruto responded sarcastically to Itachi's remark. "Kurama thought it would be a good idea to control my personality more, stop myself from being so wild and blurting out things, I guess. So, I thought now was a good of time as any to start. After all, it feels like it's been multiple hours since we've been in this genjutsu, so it was actually kind of helpful. Thanks, 'Tachi."

Itachi twitched.

"What did you just call me?" He asked, hoping he had heard wrong.

"'Tachi?" Naruto asked. "Oops, sorry. It must have just slipped out. Sorry about that."

Sighing, Itachi looked at the blonde hopelessly, yet still feeling kind of protective of the idiot.

 _I must be going soft,_ Itachi thought.

"Alright, let's go," Itachi said snapping back to attention.

"Kay!" Naruto agreed happily.

 _Outside of the Genjutsu_

"Rude!" Naruto's finished thought flew out of his mouth. Blushing and grinning at Itachi in apology, Naruto turned to face the ending beating behind him. Gathering his courage, Naruto slowly walked up to a panting Kushina.

"Um, Uzumaki-san?" Naruto asked shyly. "Are you okay?"

Blinking twice, Kushina turned to face that blonde teen, and smiled dazzlingly at him, nearly taking Naruto's breath away at how gorgeous his mother was, even if her shirt was specked with blood. Blushing slightly at the smile, Naruto returned it with a softer, more gentle one. The same one he'd used on Rin earlier. Kushina, taken aback at the expression, took a moment to gather her thoughts.

Standing up off the beaten Minato, she brushed herself off and stuck a hand out to Naruto.

"I'm Kushina Uzumaki! It's a pleasure to meet you!" She introduced herself.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too," Naruto responded. "I'm Naruto. Just Naruto. Might I just say, you have gorgeous red hair. It's really beautiful."

As Naruto finished, he stepped forward to take her hand, only instead of shaking it, he lifted it delicately to his lips as he'd done Rin's and kissed it.

"A gesture of goodwill from the Mist, Uzumaki-san," Naruto said in a half purr.

Kushina gasped and went bright red as she took her hand back.

"K-Kushina's fine," She stammered.

"Alright then, Kushina it is," Naruto said, the bit of purr sending chills up her spine.

Kushina wasn't quite sure who he was, but one thing was for sure. She really, _really,_ liked him. Hell, he'd even complimented her hair, and the only other person who'd ever done that was Minato.

 _Crap,_ Kushina thought. _Minato._

Naruto walked over and gently knelt down next to his bloody father, helping him sit up.

"Thanks Blondie," Minato said sounding dazed.

"Um, Kushina?" Naruto asked. "I mean, you had every right to do what you did, but don't you think you might have gone a bit overboard? I mean, he still has to take us to the Hokage and I don't think a concussed jounin is really fit for that. It's not like Itachi-sensei and I were planning on running off somewhere, but we still need an escort."

"That's okay," Kushina responded rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "I'll take you the rest of the way."

"Really?" Naruto asked his eyes lighting up, causing Kushina to blush. "That's great!"

Putting his arm underneath Minato shoulders, Naruto carefully lifted his father to his feet and jerked his head in the direction of the Hokage tower.

"Come on Itachi-sensei. Let's get a move on!" Naruto chirped happily as he started to half drag Minato down the street. "Where are we going, Kushina?"

"Coming!" Kushina said as she tried to hold back her laughter at the way Minato looked, half dead and stumbling down the road. "Come on, Itachi, was it? Let's go meet the Hokage!"


End file.
